Fruit process



July 6. 1948.

K. K. NEWSOM FRUIT PROCESS Filed Dec` 28,

vacuum 12a/f@ IN VEN TOR.

197g., Mpeg4@ A 7' VRNEyS Patented July 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 1mm rnocess mie-nenn x. um, sm mmm, cam. Anuman ummm za, 194s,semi N. 515,912

(ci. afi-2m l 3 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to a. process for dehydrating fruit or thelike, and to the product ot such process.

One of the objects of the invention is an Improved process for producinga dry fruit product adapted to -be packed, handled and poured likegranulated sugar, powder or flour, and in which product the normalvitamins of the original fruit before processing thereof is retained.Also the fruit product will not become gummy when exposed to theatmosphere as occurs in conventionally dried products and it is moreresistant to lnfestation than in conventionally dried fruit products.

Another object of the invention is the production of an apricot powderor the like. fromlconventionaliy dried apricots or from fresh ripeapricots. that will not become gummy when exposed to the atmosphere, andin which powder the carotene or pro-vitamin A of such dried apricots orfresh ripe apricots is concentrated andretained.

Another object of the invention is the production of a. fruit powderhaving the desired flavor of orange powder. but which flavor has notheretofore been attainable by dehydrating oranges, and which powder isstable as to flavor and is more stable than strictly orange products asto the vitamin C content of fresh orange juice. The powder also is veryrich in carotene and when it is mixed with water produces adrink havingthe desired orange flavor as well as the carotene and vitamin C values.The appearance of the powder is also that of orange powder although themain insolubles are not from oranges.

insofar as the production of orange powder is concerned, the effortsheretofore made to accomplish this result have, insofar as I am aware,been abandoned for several reasons, one of which is the apparentimpossibility of retaining the desired orange davor, and another beingthe dimculty of retaining the vitamin C of the fresh fruit. Also theorange pulp is objectionable, being devoid of any desirablecharacteristics. and ordinary dehydration of oranges involves theretention of this pulp which in itself imparts an undesirable flavor tothe product.

By my process the sugars and vitamin C are fixed in a binder thatcomprises dehydrated apricots. The special dehydration of the apricotsby my process as hereinafter described results in a. product thatreadily acts as a binder for orange juice or a concentrate thereof, andupon mixing said juice or concentrate with the apricot product and thendrying the resultant mixture until its moisture content is below about6% thereof by weight (preferably about 2%). and grinding the driedmixture. a powder is produced that has all of the desired flavor oforange juice or seasoning upon mixing the powder with water or using itas a seasoning. 'Ihls powder has the additional feature of being veryrich in carotene as well as having substantially the vitamin C that isin fresh orange juice.

The process herein described lsalso adapted for producing a. fruitpowder that may carry other vitamins than those present ln apricots andoranges.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the drawings anddescription.

The single figure diagrammatically illustrates a. system that is adaptedto carry out the process.

In detail, either fresh or conventionally dried pitted apricots may bereduced to relatively small pieces in a grinder l, after which theground material passes through a washer 2 in which it is thoroughlywashed in water of a temperature of about 85 F. (about 30 0.), althoughthe temperature may vary from about F. to about 90 F. (about 27 C. toabout'32" C.). Each of the particles of the ground apricots should bewashed with the water and ordinarily from about one to four minuteswashing is sulclent, the time being to a great degree dependent upon thefacility with which the particles are washed and the temperature of thewater. A faster washing is ordinarily possible where the temperature isF. than where it is 80 F., and if a hollow screw with openings in theblades and shaft is used as is indicated in my oo-pending applicationsSerial No. 438,687, now abandoned. filed April 13, 1942, and Serial No.510,122, now Patent No. 2,425,117 led November 13, 1943, the particlescan be washed faster than where merely an ordinary flow of water ismaintained through ,a tank through which the material is moved.

The wash water in washer I is preferably constantly drained on through ascreen and filter 3 to a. tank 4, while the solid material that isthoroughly washed is passed into a receiving tank 5 which may merelyconstitute a holding tank.

The material in tank E may carry considerable moisture which may bebetween about 50% to 70% lby weight thereof, some being surfacemoisture, some being water absorbed in the washer,

particularly where conventionally dried apricots are used, and somebeing in the fruit particles themselves.

This material in tank i is drawn into a vacuum drier l, wherein it isheated to about F. (about 58 C.) at a vacuum of say, about 26 inches ofmercury. Here there may be some variation in temperature, but thetemperature of the material in the drier should not exceed 158 F. `or'10 C. The heating may be done in-any suitable manner. The conventionalvacuum pans have jackets for steam or water and such pans are highlysatisfactory. but it is very important that the material be agitated orstirred during drying and that there are substantially no "dead" areasor places, particularly over the discharge opening in the bottom of thepan where such vacuum pan is used. A power driven shaft s carryingblades that extend into the material to the bottom of the pan and thatjust clear the sides of the pan during revolution thereof aresatisfactory for agitation of the material.

After sumcient moisture has been evaporated from the material in drier1, the said material may be moved directly into a second drier i that isidentical with drier I in every respect, and in which the material isstirred and mixed and agitated by any suitable means as described fordrier 1.

At substantially the same time the material from the drier I is movedinto drier 8, I add thereto the desired amount of freshly expressedorange Juice or concentrate thereof from a source of supply, such as atank i0. This juice may be directly drawn into drier 0. or the materialfrom drier 'I may be pumped into a receiver Il and the juice added tothe material in the receiver after which the juice and the material aretogether drawn into drier l. These variations are optional, inasmuch asthe resultant product is much the same, and the stirring or agitation ofthe material in drier l during drying will cause a mixing of the juicewith the apricot material.

The amount of juice or concentrate may vary in the ratios of apricotmaterial to Juice of say,

from about 1 to 4 to about 1 to 1. Ordinarily a ratio of about 1 to 2 ofmaterial to juice is found satisfactory.

In the vacuum pan or drier 0 the mix of apricots and orange juice ororange syrup if the former is concentrated. is dried to the point wherethe moisture content is preferably less than 6% by weight of mix, orabout 2%. The same temperature is held as in the case of drier 1, andconstant agitation and mixing is necessary to insure a uniform drynessand to facilitate the drying and the satisfactory removal of thefinished product from the drier.

After the drying of the mixture in drier 9 is finished. the dry materialmay be conducted by any suitable conveyor l2 to a grinder i3 forgrinding to powder form. From grinder il the powder may be packageddirectly or stored, as desired.

In using the term powder I intend it to mean a product having thecharacteristic of being either granular or flour-like in itsconsistency.

The sugars in the apricot material and in the orange juice appear tocombine or unite, the apricot material functioning as a binder for thesugars and vitamin C of the orange juice. Also there is a very uniformdistribution of vitamin C and carotene and the sugars of both theapricot material and orange juice in the final powder. and which powderwill not become gummy when exposed to the atmosphere, but has thecharacteristics of ordinary granulated cane or beet sugar.

It is pertinent to note that the desired characteristics in the finalproduct are dependent upon the steps in the process that precede thefinal drying operation. Unless the steps of the process, substantiallyas described, are followed, it would 4 be impossible to get the productout of the nal drier, let alone accomplishing a uniform mixing of orangejuice therewith in the mixer. In fact, the same obstacle to handling thematerial would occur to a great extent in the first drier.

This invention is not to be considered as restrictive to orange juice asthe material added at the point between the two driers, since otherseasoning, avorings, or food material may be added at this point. suchas various extracts, fruit Juices, etc. However, the problem ofproducing an orange product as specincally described herein involvesproblems out of the ordinary and which have long been an obstacle in theindustry.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. The-processor producing a non-gumming fruit powder as described thatcomprises the steps, `reducing pitted apricots to relatively smallpieces, washing said pieces in water of from about 80 F. to about 90 F.,draining the surplus water from said washed pieces, partially drying thedrained pieces in vacuo to a moisture content appreciably above 6%thereof by weight while constantly agitating the said pieces, mixing aliquid containing vitamins and flavoring with said partially driedpieces, again drying the pieces carrying such vitamins and fiavoring invacuo and while constantly agitating said pieces until the moisturecontent of the pieces is below about 6% thereof by weight. the saidliquid being orange juice containing substantially the natural vitamin Cof the fresh juice.

2. The process of producing a non-gumming fruit powder of the characterdescribed that comprises the steps of, reducing pitted apricots torelatively small pieces as by grinding, washing said pieces in water offrom about 80 F. to about 90 F., draining the surplus water from saidwashed pieces, partially drying the drained pieces in vacuo whileheating said pieces during said drying to a temperature exceeding normalatmospheric temperature and not exceeding about 160 F. and constantlyagitating said pieces during said partial drying thereof, thoroughlymixing orange juice containing substantially the vitamin C content ofthe oranges with said partially dried pieces, again drying the piecescarrying said juice and vitamin C in vacuo and at a temperature abovenormal atmospheric temperature and not exceeding about 160 F. until themoisture content of the pieces is less than 6% thereof by weight, thenreducing the said pieces to powder.

3. The process of producing a non-gumming fruit powder of the characterdescribed that comprises the steps of, reducing pitted apricots torelatively small pieces as by grinding, washing said pieces in water offrom about 80 F. to about 90 F., draining the surplus water Vfrom saidwashed pieces. partially drying the drained pieces in vacuo whileheating said pieces during said drying to a temperature exceeding normalatmospheric temperature and not exceeding about 160 l". and constantlyagitating said pieces during said partial drying thereof, thoroughlymixing orange juice containing substantially the vitamin C content ofthe oranges with said partially dried pieces, again drying the piecescarrying said juice and vitamin C in vacuo at a temperature above thatof the atmosphere and not exceeding about 160 F. while constantlyagitating said pieces, until the moisture content of the pieces is lessthan 6% thereof by weight, and finally reducing said pieces to powder.

KI'ICHENER K. NEWSOM.

(References on following page) nnl'mnons crnm Nlugfso The followingreferences are of record ln the 129772945 me of this patent: 2,110,321mum sTA'ms PATENTS 2'192'041 Number Name Date 116,729 Lowe July 4, 1811Number 1,809,720 Humphrey Dec. 17. 1926 457,088 1,717,489 Barlow June10, 1920 19 2,456

8 Name Date Washburn Oct. 18, 1032 Jameson Oct. 23, 1934 Rea et al Mar.8, 1038 Headland Reb. 27, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreatBritain 1938 Australia 1926

